Stužkova Memories

It's not good for me to go so long between blog posts - I'm not sure I'll remember to include everything!!  It seems like time is going by at warp speed sometimes, so we really try to slow down and appreciate each precious moment, even if we are hurrying off to the next moment on the agenda.   :-)  

This picture is from a week ago Monday, when the 5.AP class dressed up and brought plates of cakes (left over from their stužkova) to all the teacher offices.  It's really sweet of them to share the sweets with the teachers, especially the ones who didn't get to attend the event.  It's also a traditional extra 'opportunity' for the students to not go to classes for another day!     ;-)  

Some of the English Department in my new office.  My two new office-mates are Peter (the tall one in the back) and Ad'ka (in the red).  Tim is in an office across the hall with Katarina (next to Tim), Zuzka (next to me), and Janka (hidden in the back).  Pat'ka and Katka (middle) are the heads of the department.  

Tim played basketball again Friday night for the first time in a couple of weeks because of  other events going on.  Afterwards, there was a birthday celebration for Tim and another one of the guys with a November birthday.  The birthday boys each received a gift from the rest of the group.  

Saturday we walked to get some groceries and do a little other shopping, then spent time at the flat cleaning, doing laundry, etc.  Pat'ka picked us up a little before 5:00 for our third and final stužkova of November.

I've been wanting to get a picture of the stužkova ribbons on the burgundy satin pillow, prior to one of the stužkova's, and thankfully Tim reminded me this time!  

Each of the girls in the 5.BP class was escorted into the stužkova by one of the boys.    
This is Marcela and Martinko.  

Lenka and Richard entering the hall.  The cute thing was, there are only four boys in the class, so they had to sprint back down the hallway on the other side of the wall to escort the next girl in.  They did a super job of being gentlemen, over and over again!!  

Martin was the M.C. for the evening.  The headmistress and the class teacher always receive green sashes bearing their titles.  The pastor also gave some remarks.  

After the pinning of the stužkova ribbons on each senior, there were some lovely speeches by students thanking their parents and teachers for their love, support, encouragement, and help in reaching this point, and also a speech by a parent representative to the students.  It was a nice touch before the official toast.  

And then the dancing commenced with the traditional dance of the students with their parents.  It's so neat watching the faces of those proud parents!  

Next, of course was the student-teacher dance, and I had the honor of dancing with Richard.  He escorted Danka (the class teacher) and me back to our table afterwards.  

Tim was delighted to dance with Mirka!  She's a sweetie!  

The teacher table!  Such fun people!!  

The other end of the teacher table.  :-)  
The roses on the table were presented to each of the female teachers by the students, and the male teachers received sausages so they wouldn't feel left out!  

The food was so good - I think a pork roll with stuffing inside, and a turkey or chicken roll with spinach inside, presented on a rich cream sauce.  It was all delicious!

We had a delightful evening - the students were so wonderful in making sure all the guests were having a good time.  

Our place cards were small boats, relating to their class video which ended with them sending their own paper sailboats off into their adventure of life!   Oh, and the tray of cakes behind our boats was amazing.  Thankfully Tim was willing to split several samples with me, so I could try a variety of deliciousness!  

The entertainment was varied and fun all evening.  It was a long program, interrupted by several periods of music played by the DJ when everyone was out on the dance floor.  That probably facilitated costume changes since there were many of those!!  I've seen this black/white dance on YouTube before - it was even more fun to watch in person!!  

This was the dance done by the communist youth back in the post-WWII era.  

This was a poignant story told in dance, done in silhouette.

Then there was a 'game show' a little like "Family Feud" involving the teachers.  We didn't understand much, but it must have been really funny!!   :-) 

This is another skit that we didn't understand much of, but it involved a mountain rescue crew, which seems to be a common theme for stužkova entertainment!  Local humor I guess!!  

Traditional costumes and possibly a case of mass food poisoning, perhaps??  In any event, they were all waiting to get into the W.C.!  

And of course the traditional sharing of the champagne, followed by the breaking of the jug by the class teacher.  

The wonderful 5.BP class stužkova photo!  They're great kids, and they were so kind to us!   

Sunday morning we were up early despite our late bedtime after the stužkova, and we took the bus to Vychodna where Katarina and her mom met us just in time for church.  Afterwards we went to their house for a scrumptious Sunday lunch.  ('Lunch' doesn't seem appropriate since it's such a big meal!)  We spent the afternoon talking, laughing, and enjoying being together with the family.  Katarina's Grandma and aunt were there too, and her Dad and brother joined us later since they had been out hunting in the morning.  

Juraj found this enormous mushroom out in the woods and brought it back to show everyone.  Janka and Tim were checking out the size!  

It was 30 cm across!  Evidently all the hunters were really impressed with how huge it was too.  

This week has flown by - obviously, since there hasn't even been a blog post!!  HAHA!!  Nothing out of the ordinary really, but we do spend longer days at school this year with our additional teaching loads and all the extra preparation time required.  Last year we usually left school by 3:00 or 3:30, but this year it's always between 4:00 and 5:00.  But we don't take any work home either, so it's a trade-off.  It's getting dark so much earlier now that we always walk home in the dark.

Wednesday night we went out to supper with Marian and Susan, as an early birthday celebration for Tim.  We always have fun with them! 

Then today was Thanksgiving, which is just another routine day at school here in Slovakia.  I have to admit I was pretty bummed about having to work on Thanksgiving, knowing that everyone at home was getting together with family and celebrating the holiday together.  Then this morning as we were getting ready for the day, I rationalized that really, we weren't working during Thanksgiving --- we were only working while people in Iowa were sleeping!!  That helped my attitude a bunch!!  :-)  Also, we skyped in with Beth making pies in the kitchen, then later with everyone at my brother's house, and finally with Tim's mom in Arizona, so we felt blessed to be in touch with family.  We are definitely thankful for our family and friends at home, AND we are very thankful for our wonderful 'family' and friends here in Slovakia as well.  We are doubly blessed!!  :-)  

Tonight my two students, who have become such dear friends, came over and kept me company while I was baking Tim's birthday cake.  The German chocolate takes a lot of time, but it's worth it!  It's not exactly like at home, but it will be tasty when we take it to school tomorrow and celebrate Tim's day.  Eva brought a delicious cake, which was perfect since the one I was making is for tomorrow.  Tana brought some herbal tea (dried from the garden - very delicious), so they provided all the refreshments.  They also brought Tim a birthday present - a giant wall calendar with pictures of Slovakia's beautiful Tatra Mountains.  It brought big grins to our faces when we saw the appropriate title on the calendar:  "Magické Tatry".  Tim has always found a way to experience the 'magic' in life!!  And so it continues, here in Slovakia!  
Have a magical day everyone!!